The future of Bitcoin - Business Spectator

Virtual currencies have grown significantly in the last few years and are now beginning to attract the interest of financial institutions, venture capital investors, and payment providers. As digital and mobile wallets are well placed to expand these new technologies to more mainstream, day-to-day use, many are now asking if they will be the next big thing to hit the payments world. Current hype about open loop virtual currencies ignores the many risks and potential challenges that these currencies pose to providers. Although these currencies are unregulated, recent developments suggest they are not outside the realms of control by the authorities. Also, pricing volatility makes it unlikely that they will become a real mechanism of exchange for most consumers in the near future. Not cut from the same cloth Virtual currencies are not a single type of product, but instead fa...